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Audi A5 news - Give me five - 2007

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Following a slightly
embarrassing photographic leak this week, Audi has
released full details of its new A5 coupe well in advance of its Geneva debut.

The information confirms
what we suspected - that the A5 will firmly target the BMW 3-Series Coupe when
it goes on sale this March.

Based on a brand new Audi
platform, the A5 will share most of its underpinnings with the new A4, which
should arrive at the end of this year.

Although Audi is hailing
the A5 as a bold step to its future styling direction, we can’t help feeling a
bit underwhelmed by its looks.

When Audi launched the original
TT, it felt like a car that could change the world, but the design of the A5
just seems derivative and uninspired.

Those unchallenging looks
should mask some pretty serious performance, though. Top of the range will be
the S5 - the car in the bottom two photos - with a naturally aspirated
4.2-litre V8 delivering 354bhp.

With a six-speed manual
‘box putting the power through all four wheels, that’s enough to propel it to
62mph in a fraction over five seconds, which definitely puts the S5 in BMW M3 league.

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The S5 gets a few cosmetic
pointers too, with 18-inch alloys, a quad exhaust and boot lid spoiler, as well
as exaggerated door-sill trims.

Until a 170bhp 1.8 TFSI
option arrives in the autumn, the only other petrol engine available to the
standard A5 will be a 3.2-litre FSI.

A slightly more powerful
variation of the V6 found in the current A4, it develops 265bhp and - mated to
a six-speed manual ‘box - will
dispatch 62mph in 6.1 seconds.

Two V6 turbodiesels - a
2.7- and 3.0-litre - complete the engine line-up. The bigger diesel gets a
manual ‘box and all-wheel drive, while the smaller unit has to make do with
front-wheel drive and the option of Audi’s Multitronic auto ‘box.

Audi will be taking orders
for the A5 when it’s officially unveiled at the Geneva motor show.

Prices haven’t been
confirmed yet, but our Audi source said the A5 should start at around £30,000 with the first orders reaching our shores in June.

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